Mary Jane Alexander, I am a New York film critic and enthusiast.

Film historian and authority James Robert Parish has done it again! "The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood," like all of Mr. Parish's well-regarded books, is comprehensive, thoroughly accurate and immensely readable. The sheer research is astounding and Mr. Parish uncovers the many fascinating tidbits that enliven film history. This is a book that is a must not only for every film and media library, but also for the general reader and film fan who wants is interested in the careers, lives and place in film history of the many ethnic stars who have thrilled us on screen. Bravo.

Also recommended: The Hollywood Songsters; Hollywood Divaas; and Hollywood Bad Boys

This is a wonderfully concise, detailed, and helpful general reference source for anyone researching ethnicity in the major films, television shows and performers of the past century. The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood is easy to read, gives only the important highlights of each title and personality, and is well-indexed. The photographs in the book are nostalgic and illustrative. It's all in here -- the breakthroughs, the award winners, the important firsts, as well as other contributions that make Hollywood history and today's Hollywood unique.

The movies have always help guide and shape moviegoers into an an understanding of who they are, where they're from, and where they're going. But much of the vast American public has been virtually invisible on the screen -- which is why this book is so valuable. Our overlooked ethnic groups -- African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Jewish Americans, and Native Americans -- now have a wonderful reference source to help them understand who they are, where they're from, where they're going. This encyclopedia may be a bit pricey for average bookbuyers (where's the cheaper paperback edition?), but it will be criminal if every library in the country doesn't make it readily available.

I already have "Take Care of Yourself" and I worried that it would be essentially the same information-- trust me its not, this is an excelent resourse for a home with children. It also includes a section on Parent Skills which covers Pregnancy, Labor, newborn care, growth and development, personality development, school, finding a health care provider,staying healthy and your home pharmacy. Then theres the section of common complaints (emergency, injury, poison, allergies, fever,ect.) And the third section is a space for family records. I'm glad I have both books, but I'm most glad I have Taking Care of Your Child. It was definatly worth it.

We too, received an earlier version of this book back when our first child was born. We have used this book so often the pages are worn down and out and we needed a new copy. We were both surprized and happy to see many more editions have been released and updated since our copy. We had absolutely no hesitation in purchasing a copy. We have used this book more often than anything and is a constant companion, also when we go on vacation. This is a great gift to give a first time parent and is very basic for the non-medical people in your household. An all round great book for reference and reading. Each area describes in detail the symptoms of common medical problems. The hospital should give you a copy of this book to every parent when they leave the hospital. I guess we will wear out this book too any buy another in 12 years.

I was a typical new Mommy in May of 99. I would panic at the smallest things in my son. This book lists various symptoms of ailments and has a decision tree as to when you must call the doctor. This prevented me from making unnecessary calls to my advice nurse and doctor's office. I LOVE this book and will give a copy to all my friends who are expecting or already have a new baby.

University-textbook style, with great organization, readable two-color text, comprehensive index, and discussion of COBOL topics (like reference modification) that I have not seen properly addressed in other COBOL books.

Distinction is also made throughout the text between COBOL 74 and COBOL 85, with separate code examples for each.

Detailed discussion of every topic, good examples and the self-test is really helpful.

i am an adjunct professor utilizing this as the textbook for an undergraduate cobol class. it has more then sufficient examples, and the self-test is helpful for the students.

I am a Junior/Senior in Chemical Engineering, and I can't say enough about this set I recently purchased. My husband is a Graduate student in Chemical Engineering and he told me to hold off, that he never used his copy (1991 version), and never needed it in college. I use the electronic book all the time on my laptop. It's a great resource, and so EASY to use. I even caught my husband using my Perry's on more than one occasion, and he finally admitted my version was much better and easier to use than his! He went out and bought his OWN copy! I pretty much only use the electronic book, but it's nice to know if my laptop crashed, I have a hardcopy to go to. With the active 8, you can get the variables from a z-Compressibility Chart without having to take out the magnifying lens and ruler. Just slide your mouse and a red bordered legend tells you the Tr Pr and z simultaneously until you reach your desired measurements. Printing is a cinch, and it looks like the hardcopy except on 1 page! As I said, I use this book about every day, and I am sure this is what I'll bring to the office when I'm done with school. This would have been sweet during my Material/Energy Balance class as a sophomore, too. If you're a student you already spend $500+ on textbooks a term anyway, you might as well buy a book that has the information of every book you will buy in college in one resource for a little extra money, I put my name on it. You won't regret it if you're serious about your major.

I am a chemical engineering student at Kansas University, where Don Green teaches. I just hope that when I take my econ. class from him next semester, that his class is as easy as this book is easy to use.....a must for students, not only professionals

I used the early editions of Perry before, but this 7th edition is the most comprehensive one ever. All you need from steam tables to equations & formulae are all included in the CD ROM. I recommend it to every professional engineer in power plant and/or process industries. It's a must-have reference.

Hadi Kazwini Plant Performance Engineer ALSTOM POWER LTD Australia

Elisabeth Murray writes a wonderful and highly detailed biography of her grandfather, James Murray. Simon Winchester reintroduced many in this country to Mr. Murray in his book The Professor and the Madman, which told the story of Murray and an American living in an English asylum named W. C. Minor. This book was highly readable, but not comprehensive as a true biography of Murray.

James Murray, the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, was a gentle man of words who dedicated his life to the study of the English Language. His efforts are best understood in this book by the descriptions Elisabeth gives of his scriptorum, where Murray spent the majority of his life, and where Elisabeth worked as a young lady.

In reading about this man's life and the effort that was required to undertake the construction of this dictionary, one really gets a sense of the vastness and complexity of the English Language, the historical richness and the regional diversity. One also sees in florid detail the life of one of the great late-Victorian pedants.

This is really two books in one: the life story of James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the tale of the dictionary itself. Both are lovingly told. It's a must read for anyone interested in dictionaries or linguistics.

Elizabeth Murray, the granddaughter of James Murray, who was the chief editor of the huge Oxford English Dictionary on which every serious scholar of English continues to depend, has written an excellent biography of the greatest English lexicographer, and done more: she has also given an insight into his personality, and, yet more importantly, into the whole scholarly world of philology, lexicography etc. in Victorian England, and the difficulties which beset the creators of the dictionary. I recommend the biography most highly, and feel that all fans of *The Surgeon of Crowthorne* (chiefly on Dr W.C. Minor) should read this - preferably BEFORE that book (so as to get a sense of context), but otherwise after. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (see "More about me')

The Complete Dinosaur edited by James O. Farlow and M.K. Brett-Surman is a comprehensive book about dinosaurs. There are many contributors that have written chapter for this book, so you get different writing styles and information is duplicated at times.

This book is divided into six parts and each has chapters written by the various contributors. The parts are as follows:
Part One: The Discovery of Dinosaurs
Part Two: The Study of Dinosaurs
Part Three: The Groups of Dinosaurs
Part Four: Biology of the Dinosaurs
Part Five: Dinosaur Evolution in the Changing World of the Meszoic Era
Part Six: Dinosaurs and the Media

What I found that was very interesting was that at the end of each chapter there was extensive references. So, if you find something that piques your interest you have something else to read about, to either clarify or strengthen your viewpoint. Also, this makes the book easy to use when dealing with technical material.

This book summarizes the current knowledge about dinosaurs at the time written (1997), and currently there are only eighty professional dinosaur paleotologists in the world. This book is written like professional scientific literature, but that doesn't make it difficult to read. Reading on you will find this book is not without controversy, as vigorus disagreements among the specialists over topics of contention will be found here as they hash out these sharp divergences of opinion.

I must say, that there is some very fine artwork, with bone of skeletons, muscle structure and complete complete fleshed out dinosaurs giving the reader a full grasp of what a dinosar looks like from the inside out. Also, questions as to what dinosaurs ate, how they raised their young, and the question that was the turning point that made the movie Jurassic Park... can we isolate dinosaur DNA are just some of the many questions that have answers in this book.

All in all, the technical jargon is at a minimum and there is a glossary of terms making your reading much more fruitful. I found the narrative easy to read and the information from this book to be exceptional.

This book is very dense and covers almost anything related to dinosaurs. It is clearly intended to non-pros but it does not lack scientifical value. However, because the book was written by many authors you'll find some chapters less well written than others and some information is duplicated. My advise is to not hesitate to buy this as your first dinosaur book.

Faced with all the problems of trying to make science interesting to kids, there is, nor will there ever be anything quite so universally exciting as dinosaurs. But like any field of research, the outsider must suffer from being just that--an outsider. Without prior knowledge of the subject area one can easily fill their heads with outdated or only periphrial knowledge. What one needs is a good (up to date and user-friendly) source book, and The Complete Dinosaurs is without doubt one of the primier resources for both the outsider and insider on these ancient reptiles.

Although content will require some basic knowledge of biology (and you will find refresher material here as well--remember all your bones?), the chapters are for the most part always interesting, and some reflect the unquestionable enthusiasm of the authors. One particular chapter on the use of multimedia in cataloging and exchanging dinosaur data, while seemingly irrelevant to folks who just want to know the name of a dinosaur, spoke volumes of dedication and commitment to moving dinosaur finds from museum closets into scientists hands around the world. This level of enthusiasm does not diminish through the book, making what would otherwise be a very heavy read into something of a treat.

There are two or three other dinosaur books that may be as definitive as this one, however from paging through 'The Dinosauria' and 'The Dinosaur Encyclopedia', Farlow's books seemed the most approachable/accessible, while also not shorting the reader on content.

While this and the other dinosaur books mentioned might be a bit challenging at times for readers who don't have a background in biology, geology, paleontology, etc. (IE there is a lot of prior knowledge about evolutionary theory that the reader is assumed to possess), I would still not hestitate to recommend it to someone with a passion for Dinosaurs...which should be about everyone by now, right?

A new 8th edition has been published. But this is definately the Bible of Respiratory Care.

This is the "Bible of Respiratory Therapy" as once said by my professor. It's a great learning tool that should be used at all colleges offering the respiratory program. I'll always keep this book around no matter what.

The Egan's manual for respiratory therapy is the most benificial learning tool and reference manual that I have come across in all of my career. The information in this book is not only easy to understand but layed out in a manner that makes finding what you need an easy task. It gives a thorough review of all the important clinical data and physical characteristics needed to become a competent practitioner. The information in this book is explained in a very simple form which makes it easy to understand and retain the material that is covered. I would recommend this book as a refence tool to any student pursuing a career as a nurse, respiratory therapist, or physician. While this book may apply specific emphasis to the respiratory related field, it will reinforce your nursing or medicinal background by examining disease processes from a cardiopulmonary standpoint. This book has been a valuable learning tool and greatly aided me in both respiratory and nursing related classes and God willing as medical student. Best wishes to all and I hope you enjoy your read.

While recently on a retreat to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky, I visited the guest library looking for some heavy-duty theological works. Quite by accident, I happened to notice this cute little book that someone had left laying out on a table. The full title reads: "Serenity: A Companion for Twelve Step Recovery." I'm personally not involved in any of the twelve step programs, but I know a few people who are, and they have nothing but praise for how well they work.

The Serenity New Testament comes complete with the Twelve Steps made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous. However, it just does not reiterate them, but cross-references every single step with multiple biblical references that speak about the particular topic. For instance, Step Two: "come to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity" is cross-referenced with a passage from the Gospels: "Everything is possible for him who believes" (Mark 9:23).

The format is very simple, and extremely easy to follow. The Twelve Steps are listed in the very front of the book, with a short commentary and a long list of verses (with page numbers!) that you can look up. Or, you can go directly to the New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs, and read the various books in a normal fashion. But unlike a typical Bible, the authors have highlighted all the verses that speak directly to the Twelve Steps, and have placed the step numbers next to the verses. For example: when you read the ninth chapter of Mark's gospel, you will see "Step 2" placed next to Mark 9:23.

There is also a chain reference system, so that you can go through the New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs reading all the verses that pertain to the particular step your interested in. So when you read Mark 9:23 there will be a note in the margin telling you a page number where you can find another verse reference for Step 2.

The authors wisely chose the New King James Version for the basis of their work, which is far easier to read and understand than the early 17th century English of the old King James Bible. There are also lots of helpful notes spread throughout the Bible passages, helping the reader to understand the close relationship between the Steps and Word of God.

While I have more than enough Bibles in my home, I've never come across one as fascinating as this little gem. I seriously considering buying a case of Serenity New Testaments to have on hand for giving to people who could use a little encouragement.

An outstanding New Testament. Highly recommended, whether or not you're in a Twelve Step program.

When I first got into the 12 step program in 1990 12 step literature only took me so far in my program and I needed more or else I was in danger or returning back to active addiction. In 1993 the company I worked for went out of business and we had to take all of our personal items from our office. In my office were certificates of awards,personal and family pictures gifts from friend and many others items of importances. The only thing I made sure I took with me the day I left was this book. Without Serenity and the divine inspired wisdom that it imparts I know I probally would have returned back to active addiction and would have died. If you are in the 12 step process get Serenity it will give you a true picture of what recovery is all about and like me it might save your life.

I will never again think that AA is a program for recovery apart from God's holy word! This Bible makes it so very clear that God directed Bill Wilson and the founders many years ago (1934) to be instruments of healing power. God is the Healer, Jesus the Great Physician and the one in recovery stands in awe of miracles in his or her own life. That is of course, if one follows the Steps "one day at a time". I will always be a recovering co-dependent. Pleasing people was what I was taught to do from childhood. I thank the counselor who guided me right down the Twelve Step path. Please add this book to your library. Everyone needs healing from time to time. God bless you.

This is a nice little interesting book, but I can't agree with the effusive praise it's garnered. Brown does have some useful things to say, and his analysis is more balanced than that of many commentators on the science wars, but in places that analysis is rather shallow. It seems to me, for example, that the philosophical difficulties of naturalism would be something worth addressing by Brown, but he gives those difficulties short shrift.

Brown is just as capable as the extremists at dismissing those he disagrees with as "mushy-minded", "bad scientists" whose views are "laughable" and whose sanity should be doubted. All those who think moral norms might have divine origin? According to Brown, they're "naively religious". All those who disagree with Brown about capital punishment? According to Brown, they just must not have studied the matter as much as he has. (For Brown, this is apparently an issue on which it is impossible for there to be an honest, informed difference of opinion.) As someone who sympathizes with both Brown and Norman Levitt on many issues but disagrees with them each on others, I have to say that it's a lot more fun to be insulted by Levitt because he does it with such style! (Incidentally, Brown's analysis of Gross and Levitt's book only seems to make sense if Levitt is on the political Right. My reading of Levitt's _Prometheus Bedeviled_ leads me to believe that that is far from the case.)

One last item: Brown writes: "Most people could achieve a high-level understanding of any branch of science, but only if several years have been devoted to its intense study." I'm not sure whether Brown classifies mathematics as a branch of science, but I see no more evidence that sufficient training could provide most people with a high-level understanding of mathematics than that sufficient training could provide most people with the ability to high jump 7 feet. I used to tell my students that intense study would undoubtedly make them successful; after seeing several hard-workers earn D's, I stopped saying that.

Some contend the conflict between the sciences and the humanities is behind us. Reading Brown's analysis on the one hand and the daily news on the other shows how mistaken this view is. This is a refreshing and perceptive examination of the topics encountered over education, workplace behaviour, health and environmental issues. In short, Brown asks what the role of science is in our lives and how should we consider it? While the so-called "science wars" may seem like a remote philosophical debate, Brown brings it home for us all. In his view, you, as a participant in society, have a role to play in what science ought to address. He is adamant, however, that how science is done should remain with those who understand the methods involved in seeking the truth, elusive as that concept might be.

Brown's reviews the famous "Sokal Hoax" in which a physicist scathingly exposed the limits of "postmodern" language and philosophy. He explains how the Sokal Affair raised the public consciousness about views of what science is and how it works. Brown presents and illuminates the issues with admirable clarity and logic. He is a Professor of Philosophy with a deep respect for rational thinking. Unlike some, he doesn't view "cultural relativism" as a fad. Instead, he's aware of its impact in education and the wider world of social and political life. We are daily confronted with decisions to be made. We must make them on a rational basis and not be misled by "charlatans" who would obfuscate the issues. We make decisions on the basis of the values we hold. Brown enjoins us to be clear on our values - their foundations and how they are derived. This all sounds familiar, even redundant. Brown demonstrates how easily we can be misled if we fail to pay attention to what we are encouraged to believe and how we act on those beliefs.

Brown's answer to the query in his title seems simplistic - you do. You should rule science through democracy. We all believe in democracy [at least most of us reading this book do] and we all feel we know what it means. Brown wants you to reconsider what you believe about democracy and how it should be practiced. In short, he understands that in our form of democracy, knowledge, not emotion or mythology, should rule. Brown demonstrates how "expertise" already plays a significant role in political decisions. Expertise is derived by those who employ scientific methods to increase our knowledge. Our job is to sort through differing views to determine which is most applicable to issues under consideration. He recognizes the difficulty of the task, offering step-by-step solutions to ease the burden. People need to hear "more intelligent and informed voices" in Brown's view. How to find those voices? The starting point is this book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This is an excellent and pleasantly surprising book. Not only does it pull off the trick of explaining the differences between the positivists, Popper, and Kuhn in one concise, easy-to-read chapter, but it places the political aspect of the debate in a reasonable light, pointing out that the objectivist-constructivist divide is not simply a divide of the right and left politically, but of a certain portion of the left, those whacked out French philosophes, the "nihilist wing of social constructivism," as Brown calls them.

It is this combination of explaining philosophical terms and political problems in a clear manner that makes this book the good read that it is. It has better explanations about the philosophy of science and such terms as naturalism, realism, rationalism, and even underdetermination than I've seen elsewhere. All this in a book written for the layman, not the expert.

The one problem I had with the book was its treatment of realism. I don't think Brown brought out the problems inherent in realism. Realism not only posits that objects exist; it posits we can know and describe their properties. What is wrong with this line of thought? Parmenides said "a thing is or it is not." Give it a linguistic turn, and one might say "description describes what is or it is not description." The complaint against realism is that historically, realistic descriptions of objects have not endured and so are not descriptions.

Look at Brown's definition of realism (96):
1.The aim of science is to give a true (or approximately true) description of reality.
2.Scientific theories are either true or false.
3.It is possible to have evidence for the truth (or falsity) of a theory. (It remains possible, however, that all the evidence supports some theory T, yet T is false.)

Accepting definition (2) as the bedrock axiom, definition (1) immediately contradicts it. "Approximately true" is false to anyone except a pragmatist. The whole point of realistic description is a complete, accurate rendering of the object. Approximation might "work," but it is not "true." Second, Brown's definition (3) is at some point arguable. What if evidence itself is conceived as a set of particular objects or relations that make up the larger object of description? Inquiring into them, one could ask what's the evidence for the truth (or falsity) of the evidential facts. The realist avoids this regress by referring to some axiomatic definition or other sort of "given." This works most of the time, but not always.

Consider Brown's statement (102) that, "One thing that cannot be overstressed here is fallibility. Objectivity does not imply certain truth. Evidence can mislead. The ancients were objective in believing in an earth-centered universe, because the available evidence strongly supported this view." Brown is wrong here. Objectivity does imply certain truth (or certainly did among ancient Greek philosophers who invented realism). I think what's being confused here is rationality and objectivity. It is a rational strategy to believe what everyone else believes. What is believed, however, is not necessarily objectively true. It was rational for ancients to believe in an earth-centered universe. It was not, however, an objective description of the universe, no matter what the "evidence" showed.

Plato made a distinction between knowledge and true belief. If I recall correctly, the philosopher-kings had objective knowledge, the enforcers had true belief. The philosopher-kings were right. They knew they were right and why they were right. The enforcers knew they were right, but didn't know why. Consequently, they were fallible in their explanations and, without the philosopher-kings to guide them, in their beliefs. Now, if scientists are fallible, what is it that allows them to know when they are right? The evidence? Brown said earlier in his definition that the evidence could all be right but the theory wrong. The realist who believes in fallibility has nothing to knowingly connect to the object. He is like the enforcer who has true belief, but not knowledge.

"Eight American Poets," edited by Joel Conarroe, is a fine anthology. The introduction notes that this book was "designed as a companion volume to 'Six American Poets,'" also edited by Conarroe. "Eight" follows the same plan as "Six": rather than anthologize a huge company of poets who are represented by only a few pieces each, each of Conarroe's books focuses on a relatively small group of poets, each of whom is represented by a substantial selection. Conarroe's approach allows the reader to get a fuller feel of each poet in the anthology format.

The poets of "Eight" are Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsburg, and James Merrill. Each poet's work is prefaced by a substantial individual introduction.

There are many masterpieces in this book. Curiously, I found the most compelling poems to be those that focus on nature: Roethke's "The Meadow Mouse," Bishop's "The Fish," Plath's "Mushrooms," and Merrill's "The Octopus." Poems like these combine skillfully used language with keen insight, and reveal these poets to be true heirs of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (two of the featured artists in "Six American Poets").

Overall, I felt that "Eight" was not as strong as its sister volume, "Six." Although there are many poetic masterpieces in "Eight," there is also much material which, in my opinion, hasn't aged well. The so-called "confessional poetry" of some of these writers strikes me as overwrought. Some of the longer poems failed to resonate with me. I was particularly disappointed by Berryman's "Homage to Mistress Bradstreet," especially since I am an admirer of Anne Bradtreet's own work. Admittedly, this criticism may merely reflect my own personal tastes, but I submit it for the reader's consideration.

The fact that so many of these poets either wrote about each other, or pop up in the editor's introductions to each others' work, sometimes gives the book as a whole a creepy, incestuous feel. And the fact that so many of these poets committed suicide, had long-term mental health problems, and/or suffered from addictions further gives the book as a whole a rather morbid feel. On second thought, maybe this group of eight is a bit problematic!

Still, editor Conarroe has assembled an impressive anthology that I would recommend for students and teachers, as well as to a general readership. Although a mixed bag, "Eight American Poets" contains some truly enduring work by an octet whose legacy is secure.

.........the best known and loved poetry of eight well-known twentieth century American poets. Includes well known poems such as Bishop's "The Fish", Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz", Berryman's "Dream Songs", Merrill's "Lost in Translation", Sexton's "Ringing the Bells", and many others.

Like Conarroe's "Six American Poets", the anthology introduces us to each poet with a short biography that is presented before the poet's work. We learn about their lives and come to understand some of the primary forces that have shaped their poetry. I have found that this greatly enriches the experience of reading poetry because I better see the struggles that lead to each individual creation. After each collection, Conarroe offers a list of books and anthologies where each poet has been published so that we, should we wish, can come to know the work of a given poet much better.

This anthology is a wonderful starting place for someone who, like me, desires an introduction to some of the greatest American poetry ever produced. Personally, I feel, after reading this anthology that I have come to truly appreciate the work of Elizabeth Bishop and Theodore Roethke, in particular. I had never known their work well, but suddenly each jumped off the page at me, Bishop for her wonderfully vivid descriptions and Roethke for his intensely moving subjects. Plath and Sexton also really spoke to me, their work so reflecting their lives. Overall, this anthology is superbly worthwhile reading!

Ah, a fine comparison and contrast in studies on the eight best American confessional poets ever. Kudos to the editor on a fine choice of poems, and candid biographies on each poet. Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Allen Ginsberg, John Berryman, Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop and the other guy, here's to you.